Boy Scouts

Girl Scouts from all over the area, many of whom have been Scouts for more than a half-century, gathered Sunday to celebrate their organization with a tea.

The event entitled “Silver and Gold — Celebrating the Memories, Living the Promise,” took place at the St. Stephen the Martyr Lutheran Church, 4600 Fulton Drive NW,, where Girl Scouts young and old celebrated 100 years of Girl Scouting and 25 years of the Order of the Silver Trefoil, an organization of Scouts who have been registered members for 15 years or more.

Scouting paraphernalia at displays, crafts and, of course, cookies were on hand and so was Juliette Gordon Low — or rather, Priscilla Nemetz of Uniontown, portraying the renowned founder of Girl Scouts. Other former Scouts and Scout leaders also donned Girl Scout uniforms from 1919.

“Her day camps — they were the best day camps ever,” said Beverly Snyder, a Scout leader for two troops whose members attended day camps for Scout Leader Helen Wetzel of Massillon.

Wetzel, who came to the tea with dozens of Scouting patches sewn onto her jacket, has been a member for 57 years. She began as Troop 274’s leader for her daughter, Paula “Kookie” Gurney, when Gurney was a Scout. Gurney, whose jacket also sported dozens of patches she, too, earned, has been a member of Scouting for 58 years.

A Girl Scout member since 1954, Gurney was in Scouting only a year before her troop was left without a leader. Her mother took over, she said.

“Troop 274 (their troop) was the first one to get the 100-mile (hiking) patch from the Boy Scouts,” Helen Wetzel proudly recalled.

Former Scout leader Irene Miller said she and her daughter, Linda Carozza, will get their 45-year pins next month. Miller joined Scouting when her daughter was a Brownie, which now is the second rank for a Girl Scout.

Girls joining at younger ages are called Daisies, and one was on hand at the tea to talk about what she thinks of scouting.

Hayley Child, 6, of Strongsville, said she enjoys Scouting because it means “having fun.”

Sidney Schloenbach, 14, and her sister Victoria Schloenbach, 16, both of North Canton, arrived with their mother, Jane Schloenbach, who served as Troop 521’s leader until it disbanded a few years ago. But the memories of the time they spent together and with their fellow Scouts are precious.

“Girl Scouting is being friendly to others and helping those who need a friend and serving God,” Sidney said.

Her sister said they enjoyed their time in Scouting because, “we are always out doing something. You are never bored. We did a lot of camping, games and hikes … ”

The girls started in Scouts as Daisies, their mother said. She eventually took over as a troop leader.

“What I loved is watching the girls grow and mature. They loved doing the community service and our girls loved going outside,” Jane Schloenbach said. Her troop took frequent camping trips to the Great Trail Girl Scout camp.

She is also a second-generation Girl Scout.

Her mother, Jane Young of Perry Township, who also was at the tea, became a Brownie in 1957, and eventually, a Scout leader.

“I’ll be getting my 55th-year pin this year,” Young said.

Jan Hart of Hartville has been director of the Scouts’ summer day camp in Hartville for more than 30 years. Hart, who is a member of the nationally-chartered Order of the Silver Trefoil, pointed out that it is the last day camp in the area.

This year’s camp will run from Aug. 6 to 10 in Hartville.

For more information about Girl Scouts and the camp, log onto www.gsneo.org, the website for Girl Scouts of North East Ohio.

Written by Vanessa Junkin Staff Writer

Each Halloween, children collect candy as they go trick-or-treating. But at Selbyville’s annual Halloween parade, residents can take part in a different type of collection by donating used eyeglasses or prescription sunglasses to those who need them.

For the second year, the theme is “Sight Night,” said Bruce Schoonover, who handles publicity for the Fenwick Island Lions Club, a co-sponsor of the event with the town of Selbyville.

Schoonover and Fran Pretty, parade chair, said members of the Indian River High School Leo Club will gather eyeglass donations to benefit those in third-world countries.

The first Halloween parade in Selbyville was more than 60 years ago, Pretty said.

“It’s just a long-lasting tradition here in Selbyville,” said Selbyville Town Administrator Robert Dickerson, who has been attending the event since roughly 1980.

Schoonover said he’s spoken with someone who remembered purchasing war bonds at the event back in the 1940s.

Pretty said the Fenwick Island Lions Club became involved four years ago, after the Selbyville Lions Club — which had served as co-sponsor for many years — disbanded.

The parade has a friendly, hometown atmosphere, Dickerson said.

“(My favorite part is) just seeing the excitement of the kids that are participating in the parade,” Dickerson said. “They really look forward to it.”

Roughly 25 floats, which can be antique cars or something else other than traditional floats, are normally part of the event, including local merchants, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, majorettes and gymnasts, Pretty said.

Performing in the parade will be marching bands from IRHS, Sussex Technical High School, Sussex Central High School and Stephen Decatur High School along with Steel the Show, a steel drum band from Southern Delaware School of the Arts.

John Syphard, a seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher at SDSA who is director and manager of Steel the Show, said the band won for “best float” for their performance last year.

Syphard said hearing the band’s name called at the judges’ booth and being with an enthusiastic crowd are highlights of performing in the parade with Steel the Show. The band includes about a dozen students, many of which are new this year.

“I like (this parade) ’cause it’s local and the crowd’s fairly appreciative of it,” Syphard said.

The parade starts off with a kid costume contest. Participants should be at Salem United Methodist Church by 6 p.m.

The Lions Club has been selling 50-50 raffle tickets for the past few months and raffle tickets will be for sale at the parade as well.

Ticket sales, at $1 per ticket or $5 for six, reimburse the school bands’ bus transportation to the parade, she said.

The Lions Club and the Selbyville Volunteer Fire Department each have food for sale.

Pretty said she enjoys working with the community and helping put on this family-oriented event.

“I think it brings the community together and it highlights what a small hometown is like,” she said.

The Morris Lions Club annual Fall Classic Car Show started off as a small collection of 100 cars at the Grundy County Fairgrounds.

Now, on the 25th anniversary of its creation, it stands as the largest car show in the area and is expected to bring in 1,000 cars and thousands of spectators.

The Morris Lions Club, a volunteer organization dedicated to leadership development through community service, will host its Car Show, Swap Meet, and Car Corral on Sunday, Oct. 9.

The Morris Lions Club helps maintain the Morris Lions City Park, and has provided pavilions for every park in the city that currently has one. They take pride in the fact that 100 percent of the profits from the show and all of the events go back into the community.

Spectators can expect to see 43 different classes, and cars ranging from 1900 through the latest hot rods, including classic Chevys and Mustangs by the dozen.

In addition to the car show, there will be a swap meet where people can find car parts, decorations, toys, and about anything car related. The car corral had more than 200 cars for sale last year, some rough and some ready to drive off to show at the next car show.

Owners can register their cars from 7 a.m. until noon Sunday, Oct. 9 to be ready for judging and awards at 3:30 p.m. The show will take place at LyondellBasell Recreation Area, five miles East of Morris on U.S. 6 at Tabler Road.

Spectators can attend for $5 per person or $10 per family. In addition to the more than 1,000 cars expected to be present, the event will have lots of great food, door prizes, a free shuttle service provided by Illinois Central School Bus, free parking, music and commentary by 3D Sound of Dixon, Ill., and a 50/50 drawing.

Every 25th show car gets in free, and dash plaques by Screwball’s T-Shirts and signs are given to the first 650 show cars. Additional special awards include the LyondellBasell Manager’s Choice, Lions Club Choice, Lions Truck Choice, Lady Lions Choice, Judge’s Choice, Club Participation, Longest Distance to Show and Best Display.

“You can also get in on the raffle to win a beautiful 1971 Chevrolet Camaro, which will be given away at 3:15 p.m. It is the 15th car we’ve raffled off,” says Doug Linn, an organizer of the event. “The proceeds will go towards eyeglasses and hearing aids for the community.”

“The proceeds from the car show go to our sight and hearing programs and to the many community projects we do in Morris,” he added. “The show is our main source of income and is so large that we get help from a number of organizations to work the show, including Boy Scouts and American Legion. We also contribute to them for their help.”

The Carmel Lions Club (Indiana) celebrated 75 years of service this spring with Lions from throughout Indiana and many friends of the Lions.

We are very proud of our service to Carmel over the past 75 years. We are extremely excited about what we will accomplish over the next 75 years. We are a growing and dynamic club.

With nearly 100 members, our service to Carmel, the state of Indiana and the world community continues to grow. We need the continued assistance of the Carmel community to sustain our growth.

First, please patronize our many great community events. We have two exciting upcoming events: The IU Health North Hospital Pumpkin Patch 5K, presented by the Carmel Lions Club, will be Saturday, Oct. 8, and our Fall Pancake Breakfast will be Saturday, Oct. 22.

We just concluded our 73rd annual fish fry, which is the longest-running community event in Carmel. Other events include our strawberry festival during the CarmelFest parade, breakfast brat sales at the Carmel Farmers Market, spring rummage sale and holiday fruit sale.

Second, please consider joining the Carmel Lions. The more members we have, the more people we can help. We provide meaningful service opportunities to those with busy family and professional schedules.

All our events, including meetings, are family-friendly.

Meetings are the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. at our clubhouse at 141 East Main St. in the Arts and Design District. We have no mandatory attendance requirements.

The Lions’ motto is, “We Serve.”

We provide eye exams and glasses to those in need in Carmel. We are parade marshalls for the CarmelFest Parade. We assist in providing leader dogs to the visually impaired at no cost. We provide meeting space for senior citizens, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and 4-H.

When disaster strikes Indiana, Haiti or Japan, Lions are there with immediate assistance. We collect and sort used eyeglasses (these eyeglasses are provided to the needy in Third World countries at no charge).

We support Meals on Wheels, Children’s Wish Fund and the Carmel Clay Historical Society, among many others.